Biggest trading in IPL history: Mumbai Indians trade Cameron Green for Hardik Pandya in IPL 2024

27/11/2023/9:01:am

New Delhi: The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 has witnessed the biggest trading in its history. On Sunday, November 26, 2023, all the teams released and retained their players for the upcoming season. Just two hours later, a major deal was announced, where Mumbai Indians (MI) have reacquired their former star all-rounder Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans (GT).

How the trade happened
Hardik Pandya, who was the captain of GT, joined the new franchise in 2022 for a whopping Rs 15 crore. He led them to the title in the same year and to the runner-up position in 2023. Before that, he had played for MI since 2015 and won four IPL trophies with them.

However, Pandya’s relationship with GT has ended and he has now returned to his old team MI. The trade was made possible by MI’s decision to trade their Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who had joined them in 2023. Green is expected to join Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) soon.

MI had to trade Green because they did not have enough money in their purse to buy back Pandya. According to the IPL rules, a team can only spend up to Rs 85 crore on their players. MI had already spent Rs 74.5 crore on retaining 16 players, leaving them with only Rs 10.5 crore for the auction. Pandya’s base price was Rs 15 crore, which meant that MI had to free up some space in their budget to trade him.

Green, who had a base price of Rs 6.5 crore, was one of the most expensive players in MI’s squad. By trading him, MI saved Rs 6.5 crore and added it to their purse, making it Rs 17 crore. This was enough to trade Pandya, who agreed to join MI for Rs 15 crore.

The impact of the trade
The trade has created a huge buzz in the cricket world, as it has reunited one of the most successful combinations in IPL history. Pandya, who is known for his explosive batting and handy bowling, will add more firepower and balance to MI’s already formidable line-up. He will join the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Jason Behrendorff in MI’s squad.

On the other hand, GT has lost their captain and star player, who had been instrumental in their success in the last two seasons. They will have to find a new leader and a replacement for Pandya’s role in the team. They will also have to cope with the loss of Green, who had impressed with his all-round skills in 2023. He had scored 312 runs and taken 14 wickets in 14 matches for MI.

The trade has also affected RCB, who have gained a quality player in Green. He will join the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, and Kyle Jamieson in RCB’s squad. He will provide more depth and variety to RCB’s batting and bowling departments.

The retained and released players of MI and GT
Here are the lists of the retained and released players of MI and GT for IPL 2024: